Top Ten Ways to be an Extreme Green: #1

It's April, which means that Earth Day is coming up. This month, it seems like everywhere you go you hear advice on greening your life. At Whole Foods the other day (I made a trip to the organic superstore and managed to spend less than $100 in a visit, which might be a record for me), I picked up an "Earth Month Calendar" with "simple daily green tips": advice very day on ways to make your life more environmentally friendly.

And really, I know I shouldn't expect much from a grocery store, especially a superstore conglomerate like Whole Foods. But does all their earth month advice have to involve buying something? On April 11 (my birthday, incidently), they advise me to "take a step for whole trade" by giving "chocolate that gives back." Apparently, "Easter candy can be all the more deliciously meaningful with Whole Trade chocolate, such as Equal Exchange chocolate bars!" Or on April 6, I'm told to buy Seventh Generation laundry detergent. "This detergent," the ad tells me, "is non-toxic, biodegradable and free of phosphates." Seventh Generation also gets an ad on April 13, where I'm told that their products "helped save 725,000 gallon of petroleum."

Some of the days do have nice tips on them. Like April 7, which suggests that I "give meatless a chance" and tells me that "producing beef can use up to 40 times the water as growing vegetables." Or April 14, which advises me to eat in season: "Growing foods when they naturally grow best uses less energy and resources." And April 25 tells me to "join or host a community green-issues group." But even the tips that aren't advertisements in disguise are still, well, pretty basic. I know that most people haven't taken even simple steps to green their lives, and I know that little actions, taken by enough people, can make a big difference. But sometimes it bothers me that we set the bar so low. It's the same problem in many areas of life--in churches, in schools, in relationships--we ask for almost nothing and get even less. Sometimes you get more when you ask for more. So this month I'm not going to recommend easy ways to green your life. I'm not going to tell you to change your light bulbs to CFL or buy a hybrid car. Instead, I'm going to tell you how to become a true environmentalist--a "dark green" environmentalist who suffers from "carborexia," as the New York Times called it. If you've already taken lots of simple steps toward living a greener lifestyle, then maybe it's time to get off the fence. Maybe it's time to go all the way. Maybe it's time to really change your life.

So this month I'll give you the top ten ways you can become an extreme green. Today we'll start with something that's relatively easy: give up your car. Stop driving entirely. Sell your car. It's extreme, yes, but it can be done, even if you live in Atlanta. I have a friend who gave up driving as a New Year's Resolution several years ago; he hasn't driven in the city since. He does catch rides with friends on occasion, but mostly he takes public transportation and rides his bike. Difficult, but not impossible.

If you live in the suburbs, of course, this becomes more challenging. You have to choose carefully where to live if you're going to be a hard-core environmentalist. But I'll save that question for the next point on my top ten list.